US President Donald Trump on Saturday said India has reportedly stopped purchasing Russian oil and called it a “good step” if confirmed – remarks that came days after Washington decided to impose a penalty on New Delhi for purchasing crude oil and military equipment from Moscow.

“I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard, I don’t know if that’s right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens….,” Mr Trump told reporters.

#WATCH | “I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard, I don’t know if that’s right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens…” says, US President Donald Trump on a question by ANI, if he had a number in mind for the… pic.twitter.com/qAbGUkpE12 — ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India’s energy purchases are guided by market dynamics and national interests and that the Centre is unaware of any specific developments regarding Indian oil companies pausing Russian imports.

This came in response to reports that Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and the US warned against purchasing oil from Moscow. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude.

“You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation. We are not aware of any specifics,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly briefing.

Earlier, Mr Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had criticised India for continuing to import discounted Russian oil despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. On Wednesday, the US President decided to impose the penalty, besides a 25% additional import duty on goods imported from India.

According to a Reuters report, the country’s state refiners – Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd – have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so.

The refiners and the federal oil ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply – mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and West African oil, sources said.

Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy are the biggest Russian oil buyers in India, but state refiners control over 60% of India’s overall 5.2 million barrels per day refining capacity.

On July 14, Mr Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.